Jedi League 3: There is no death
by Tally
Summary: TPM. SLASH. QO. Final part of the series. Amidala is fighting for the throne, the ghost of the Jedi has risen, but will ObiWan and QuiGon be together once the revolution is won?
1. Prologue

Title: Jedi League 3: There is no death.

By Tally

Rating: T/M

Warning: SLASH.

Category: AR, Drama, Action

Summery: The end to the Jedi League series. The Jedi is dead, Qui-Gon is working for Dooku and Amidala is ready to take the throne from Palpatine.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Thanks to: Mady.

AN: Hey all. It has been ages since I posted, especially since I finished JL2. I'm sorry for the delay, I've had some real hassel in RL and I've been a little distracted, however I am back to writing again. Here is the re-edit/re-write of the first part of JL3, the next part will follow as soon as I've finished corrections etc... Also for all those wanting to know where the next part of Shadow of the Jedi series is the answer to that is it is coming... soon... I'm writing both these fic at the same time and Shadow 3 is coming along nicely. Each part is much longer that JL though so there will be a bit of a gap inbetween each section. Enjoy both. T.

Prologue - Deceiver

I am dead.

A little melodramatic, perhaps, I will admit, but only to you, dear friends, for I have an image to maintain after all, even in death. I am dead, at least for all intents and purposes; to the world, the Spider, the League and to my dearest Qui-Gon I suffer life no more. Of course I am not literally dead; to you I make my confession: it was all a lie, a masterly one thought up by a hero desperate to protect those who were vulnerable.

Qui-Gon has already told you the story of how we fell in love, the adventure of it, its tragedy and its triumphs, and then he told you the story of our parting, how eloquently he spoke of my betrayal, still grieving, but with a heated anger beneath its surface. And now I shall tell you how it ended. Qui-Gon vowed never to write of us again after the news of my death, and while he may yet change his mind, for the time being it is left to me to tell you of the Jedi's final adventure.

It is odd really, what has happened in the last year and the adoration for the Jedi. Not even in my fantasies and dreams did I expect any of it, despite the masks of arrogance I show to the world, in both my guises. I never intended for the Jedi to be so loved; it was never my intent to be relied upon for the future of a nation; none of it was in my planning. When I began my adventure, years ago now, I did it for the cause, because I believed in Naboo and my heart suffered at her injustice. I admit it was no small part of me that was also glad of the distraction from the boring, stately life I had been born into. The place I found myself in was never meant for me; it was my brother that was to have the honour of attending court, while I would remain as the Lord of Dantooine. It suited us both perfectly. Fate took my family and I became a Lord in place of my brother and father. The Jedi was born for Naboo, but also for the boy whose childhood had not lasted nearly long enough.

Despite my intentions of adventure and escape, the Jedi's legend grew, and with it so did the League. I find it a great irony that I invented the Jedi to escape the pressures of court life, but as him I gathered even more responsibility onto myself; the resistance grew with the Jedi as their icon and hero.

But now I find myself without a cause to fight, no more need for adventure and, to my sorrow, I find that I am as I was before all of it began: I am alone.

Qui-Gon remains in Theed, unforgiving to my lies, and Amidala is on her throne as I had always hoped. Xanatos is away still, attending the ongoing celebrations in Naboo. Even though I know he will return, it will never be enough to replace the closeness Qui-Gon and I once shared. I think it is that which I miss that most, but even now, as I sit here in my misery, recounting to you my deception, I am unrepentant of my lies; the end justified the means. Did they not? That is why Qui-Gon remains in Naboo, that is why he will not forgive me and come home; I refuse to be sorry for my deceit. I am dearly sorry for the hurt I inflicted upon his heart, but I did what I knew had to be done, as I always have. I told him once that our lives are not our own. I think now he understands the harsh truth of what that means.

So then, the final tale of the Jedi and his infamous League, but before I can go forward I must, for a time, go back. Back to where I left you last, standing on a knife edge, hinting at a plan that could have been the death of us, a plan that devastated my love's heart because I did the inconceivable to him; I left him. I had to; he was in danger. I did not trust the Spider to not betray Qui-Gon's name and Amidala was in peril, too.

I told MacLeane of Travin's involvement in the plot and he, in turn, did tell Qui-Gon. All else I kept close to my own heart, especially the identity of the cursed Spider. Why? Why did I not share this valuable knowledge even with those I trusted the most? Because it filled me with fear and it fills me with loathing to admit it. Fear is not an emotion I have much familiarity with. Is it because I am brave or a fool? Who can say? I certainly cannot, though at times it seems like both. Perhaps Qui-Gon could answer that question, for no other man knows me as he does, but he will not answer me that question or any other.

Once I left Qui-Gon, I set myself to the task of destroying the Spider and I knew in my heart that to be successful, the Jedi must die. It grieved me to do it; the Jedi had been a large part of me for so very long and indeed, despite death and an end to his crusade, remains so. Nevertheless, despite my attachment, the Jedi had to be murdered, and with the aid of MacLeane and an unwitting Spider, this was accomplished. No one else. No one else knew, not the League and not Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon stayed in Theed after my death; with no Jedi, there was no reason for him to return to Coruscant. And he knew with the Jedi's death I was gone also. He sought no excuse to return over the sea to Kenobi Hall, a place which he knew would only echo with the sound of emptiness.

I remained in Naboo for a time after the reports of my murder had reached the right people, but I was not idle. I remained in the lands of my enemy, planning. The Coruscant Court was used to my long absences, a flaky reputation had been of great use to me in the past and I hoped it would help me again. I hoped that before any hasty conclusions could be made about the Jedi's death and my long absence, I would be back among the gaily dressed men and women of the aristocracy of my beloved home, back at my prince's side.

So, where does that leave the story? After the Spider's games and the completion of his web, Travin, though banished from Coruscant, remained in Beli'ay undetected as the Spider's accomplice and, unknown to him and the citizens of the city, another dangerous man lurked their fair streets: Maul was in the capital in search of lost secrets and King Palpatine's dead wife. The Spider himself was still out there in the world and Qui-Gon, Qui-Gon was working under Count Dooku, searching for the Spider with the help of the ever faithful Lieutenant MacLeane. They would fail in their task; I would see to that, as I intended to find him first and teach him that interfering in the Jedi's business is a dangerous occupation, especially in the name of revenge, but more importantly, I intended to teach him that threatening Lord Kenobi's loved one was a deadly matter.

This is what has gone before, accounted to you by my own beloved. The only error in his reports was the account of my death, my murder. What really happed that evening is where this tale really begins, so that is where I shall start. I told a lie to my love and now I tell you the truth. Forgive me all my transgressions and I hope that once you know my reasons you may bring yourself to understand them and embrace me once more, as Qui-Gon will not.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Trickster

From the very beginning my murder was a set up, a plan which could have easily led to my real death, if I had misjudged the Spider or if MacLeane had not been so efficient with his aide. So what happened that night the Jedi was destroyed? It was not as MacLeane described to Qui-Gon in many ways. The prison was in Bandomeer, that much was true, but I did not go there to free a prisoner, I went there to slay him.

The man who sat alone in a prison cell that night, waiting for justice, was a traitor to the League; upon his capture he had made a confession and was willing to part with names for his own life. Those who join the League know of the risks they must undertake and they know that if it is within my or the League's power to grant, they would not be taken to the executioner's block, they too would be swept away from Naboo and her blood thirsty king. The man in that cell was willing to betray us all and it was my unhappy task to ensure that he was never given the chance to put other League members in danger.

There were other reasons for my judgment. The League is about many things, not least of all is trust; trust that the man who stands at your shoulder will guard it and not betray you to our enemies. Not only had he betrayed us to the King, but also to the Spider; he had been my most dangerous opponent's mole. The Spider himself had not infiltrated the League, a theory that both Qui-Gon and I had considered for a time and of course he had his second accomplice, Travin, in Beli'ay to do his dirty work in my homeland. Neither of these men knew of the other's involvement in the Spider's web, but who was he? Who was the man who had sold his loyalty? It was Bruck Chun. I think some of you may be surprised to know this, as some within the League, and I admit myself for a time, suspected Bruck to be the Spider. However, with all things relating to the Jedi, it was not as simple as that.

Bruck had been loyal enough to begin with, his sense of justice overriding any misgivings he may have had, but one night the Spider came to him and whispered to him secrets I never would have let him know. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the Jedi, he was told and Lord Kenobi had been the man responsible for stealing away Bruck's lover. Bruck knew my name the moment the Spider had spoken, had remembered it from the letters he had received from his lover. But who was his lover that I had stolen? Travin, of course. Those three men plotted against me, had all they needed to destroy the Jedi: not for their king, nor their country, but for revenge.

I often wonder, now that the urgency of the moment has left me, what I would have done if Qui-Gon had betrayed me in the manner that Travin betrayed Bruck. Would I have been capable of forgiving, and indeed, helping the man I perceived as the one responsible for the loss of my beloved? I cannot say. Love can be treacherous and can make the best of us act in ways we never would have dreamed, make us carry out deeds that shame us into our deaths. I like to think though, that I would not have betrayed my own beliefs like Bruck did; after all, I gave up my love for Qui-Gon for my duty, I don't think I could have abandoned my cause for hate.

Bruck's betrayal became known to me fairly quickly. He was not a shrewd or devious man, not like the Spider, or indeed Travin. He was a man spurned on by hate and was used by those more cunning than he. Not too long after his turning an opportunity presented itself for me to silence him. In what I perceive as a fit of guilt, Bruck requested a transfer to Bandomeer and MacLeane granted it. He and I hoped that it was far enough away from the capital to prevent him from doing any real, long lasting harm. Even there he became a danger to us all: he was discovered and imprisoned. When MacLeane received word of Bruck's arrest I am sure he cursed in all seven languages he knows. Our hope of Bruck staying out of trouble was dashed. He left for Bandomeer while also sending word to the Jedi.

The League are everywhere and Bandomeer is no different. The prison warden of where Bruck was held was a member and he sent word to MacLeane as soon as Bruck was brought to him. More than that though, he allowed no other to question him, waiting instead for the arrival of the NIA. MacLeane went to Bandomeer and for an hour listened to Bruck's confession. Bruck spoke at length of the Jedi and the League, of how he was recruited and how the resistance operated. He told MacLeane all this, but never did he mentioned the Spider.

I arrived not long after MacLeane. In the early hours of the morning I met MacLeane and he told me all that had transpired. I listened and knew it was finally time to diverge my plan. It was risky, we both knew it, but our options were narrowing and while Bruck was a pawn, he was not an innocent. We grabbed our chance and took the opportunity.

That night I, too, went to Bruck's cell, but I did not offer him absolution or freedom, I offered him a sword. I told him I was not a man without honour and that I would not murder an unarmed man. He tried to beg me for his life as I spoke, but to no avail. Finally I said that I was not a man as the Spider was. His face paled and he ceased his begging, he realised I knew the full extent of his betrayal. He nodded and held up his sword. I am not the Spider nor am I the man he has painted me as and that night I was not even Lord Kenobi; I was the Jedi and I had a duty.

We fought, not long and not hard. We fought and I won. He died in that cold cell, alone in death, but able to still grasp the last of his honour. Blood seeped from his wound and puddled on the stone floor, running along the mortar channels. MacLeane entered the cell and picked up the body, careful not to smear the blood. He returned moments later a look of dread on his face.

"You must do it," I told him.

"I know," he said. "I never dreamed I'd be the one to do this to you."

"I trust you."

He drew his sword and as quickly and as painlessly as he could he sank the tip into my side, a non-fatal wound, but a severe one nonetheless, one that would deceive the Spider. I held my side as the blood seeped though my fingers. I nodded to MacLeane who left the cell, but remained close by.

I sat in the blood that Bruck had left, now mixed with my own, and scooted back until my back was to the cell wall. I held my sword loosely in my hand and slumped a little, creating the image of a wounded, dying man. I sat like that in the cell and waited for the Spider to come. I did not have to wait long. He stood boldly in the open doorway and finally we were face to face.

"You look surprised to see me," I said, still holding my bleeding side.

"I did not come here for you."

"Yet, here I am," I said, unable to resist my usual bravado.

"Where is Bruck?"

"I came to give him an honourable death," I explained to him, shifting slightly to try and ease the ache in my side. "It seems I underestimated him."

"He beat you?"

I am arrogant enough to be a little irritated at his tone; he did not even sound the slightest bit incredulous, he simply sounded bored.

"He wounded me," I corrected. "Then he fled, I doubt you will find him."

"It does not matter, he was merely a mean to an end." He stepped further into the cell, and as he advanced upon me I made a show of struggling to my feet. "You looked surprised now, Jedi, did you really think I cared for him?"

"You're here aren't you?" I reasoned, gripping my sword tightly, letting him see the challenge in my eyes.

"I did not come to save him Jedi, I came to slay him. Just another victim of the Spider."

"You are without compassion."

"You are hardly in a position to speak of such things to me, but this time I shall prove you right." He drew his sword. "Stand and fight me Jedi, I had not planned our end to be this way. I wanted to destroy you utterly, but I will take what the fates give to me."

"So be it then."

I pushed off from the wall and we stood silently for a moment before he lunged. We fought for barely a few moments, my defence was clumsy and ineffective; his sword nicked me a dozen time before I allowed myself to collapse, in truth I am not sure that by that point I could have defeated him; I was weak and weary.

He approached me slowly.

"You are right, I am without compassion." He sunk his blade into my shoulder and I could not help but cry out. Using my blood he pained his mark upon the wall.

"Dawn is hours away yet, Jedi, I will leave you here to die, slowly bleeding to death and should you survive till morning you will be at the mercy of your enemies." As he left it occurred to me I had not asked him why he hated me so. I think now I realise I did not ask because it did not matter.

As his shadow disappeared into the gloom of the corridor I heard him say one last thing. Out of darkness came the voice of judgment;

"Perhaps you have lost everything, Obi-Wan," he began, and the use of my name was as though death himself looked upon me. "Perhaps my victory is complete after all; you are without Qui-Gon, you are without love, you die alone in the cell of a traitor."

He left me to die and if my most loyal of friends had not been waiting for the Spider to depart, my wounds would have been mortal. You ask me, as does Qui-Gon in his anger, what if the Spider had simply killed me out right? Why did I not destroy him there and then? Because I knew the Spider, I knew he wished to wound me in the worst way, namely the defeat of my pride, and because I needed more time; Amidala needed more time.

MacLeane helped me from the cell and returned with Bruck's body, face disfigured by the blade of a sword and now suitably dressed as the Jedi. The sign of the Spider was written in blood upon the wall, ready to testify the truth of the night's events. MacLeane discovered the Jedi's body the following morning and two stories were told: one to Qui-Gon and one to the King.

In his report, MacLeane concluded that the Spider had interrupted the Jedi in his task of freeing his League member. There was no sign of Bruck and so it was guessed he had fled in the following battle between the two titans. After killing the Jedi, the Spider left his mark in blood, signing the words of the rebellion in the blood of their hero. And so it was that I was dead, and for a time Amidala and Qui-Gon were safe.

I could not have stopped all three men, Travin, Bruck and the Spider, at once and help Amidala too; the web of betrayal was too tightly spun. And with Maul's arrival in Beli'ay, the situation had become increasingly complicated. I am, after all, only one man, not some mythical hero, as some would have you believe. I have no powers and I know no magic. I did what I could to buy the rebellion more time. It worked and now we must all live with the consequences.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Ghost

How little it seems now to tell you of it. So much of such great significance that affected the people I love and the peoples of Naboo. In a few short pages, I have told you how the hero of a nation, the Jedi, came to die. In just a handful of pages I have written the doom of my love. These things destroyed Qui-Gon and I, put fear in the hearts of the resistance and it gave the enemy a victory. I ache to tell of these things, I grieve as I write because now he knows it all, Qui-Gon knows all of the lies I told. I have wounded his heart and his pride.

Qui-Gon had believed he knew me inside and out, he believed he could see behind the façade and knew Obi-Wan, not just one of my masks. Yet, he did not discern anything of my deceit, he perceived no falsehood from me as I told him about the Spider and so now he thinks he was wrong, that he did not know me at all. But it is in this that he is wrong; he did know me, and he did see through to the heart of me. He saw me as the man I am and I loved him truly for it and I pray for him that as time passes he will come to realise that, and although it still may not be enough to bring him back to me, I hope that it will bring him the same comfort in his bitterness as it does me in my loneliness.

I believe it best not to dwell on the pain I have inflicted upon both of us, it is entirely my own doing and if I allow it to swell up into my mind I do not think I'd have the strength to continue for the tears in my eyes.

The characters of this tale, Qui-Gon, MacLeane, Maul, Amidala, Travin, myself and the man who named himself Spider, were scattered by circumstance; we were so many with huge distances between us, so what then could have set us all on the same path that ultimately led us back together? Guess if you can. Imagine, what could have brought Qui-Gon back from his vengeful crusade to the province of Tatooine, what could have led Amidala to desert the safety of her haven in Coruscant and what could have led the Spider to finding his grave? Only the one thing could have been the catalyst for all this.

We all live in this story for one reason, our names only known to you because of a single link; the Jedi. News of a rescue, tales of a cloaked man, a story of a hero once more journeying into the country of the oppressed, yes it all began again in Tatooine with the Jedi doing what it was he had been created to do, what he was meant to do. Not fighting a war, leading a rebellion, protecting a Queen or sparring with the Spider. I think I forgot that, I'm not sure when, but when I awoke from my death I realised that the powerful vied for power, but the innocent suffered still and so the ghost of Jedi could not rest.

In Tatooine, what remained of the League was in trouble. The rebels had been discovered and were forced to retreat to the inhospitable desert of the province, they were in hiding; Guards, soldiers and even Palpatine's Liberators hunted them in the sandy dunes. It would not be a typical rescue for the Jedi, but in doing so the rumours I so desired would begin. I went to Tatooine, alone, and extended my legend to beyond the grave itself. Less than a month after my murder I was in Tatooine's waste lands and like a ghost I struck, silent and deadly and I brought my wrath with me and delivered my vengeance.

I found the camp of the roaming resistance and ragged remains of my once vibrant League. I watched from shadows as they raided government caravans and intercepted official messages. They fought with the soldiers in the towns and spread the seeds of doubt to the people, but these rebels, the ones I watched in that tireless week, were not the men and women I had once known; the spark of hope seemed to have deserted them, they lingered on, fighting their war because there was simply no other choice.

On the day the camp was attacked I had followed the soldiers from the city of Mos Espa in solitude. I trailed one of their parties as they split up into small groups so that they could surround and surprise the rebel base camp, a place of dwelling, not just to warrior, but of women and children also. It was a small town of tents and horses; it would be a slaughter. As dusk fell I used the night to approach the line of soldiers whose party I had followed. In silence I reached out to one of their number and alone in darkness he died by my hand with barely a struggle and with no discernable sound.

I disappeared back into the darkness, returning to the line of soldiers only to attack and deprive them of one more of their number. The body of the third was in my hands when a cry finally went up into the ambivalent skies. Fear now resided in the hearts of the men, so much so, the officers feared desertion. I allowed them to wait out the rest of the night, allowing their fears to mount. I allowed my shadow to flicker into their peripheral eye line, but would disappear as they turned to search for a physical form. As I played my game mummurs grew of a ghost that walked among them.

Dawn approached and in the sun's early light I struck again. Three more I killed, their blood forever on my hands, and in their wake five more deserted, to escape the angry murderous phantom. Those that remained shuffled forward, their fear now a living thing amongst them. The officers who commanded them could not quell their fears, nor their own. As the sun rose and the signal for the attack reached their ears, Palpatine's troops that had positioned themselves on the opposite side of the rebel camp attacked, never guessing what had transpired in the dead of night to their allies.

Instead of being trapped, surrounded by enemy soldiers, the rebels were able to flee through what remained of one part of the line and disappeared into the desert they had spent their lives in. The soldiers were left in their wake, bewildered and broken. When at last they returned to the small barracks on the outskirts of Mos Espa, they found a message scrawled across its wall in letters six feet high; the writing as black as the void of death. They stared at it mutely and those who had lived prayed in thanks and for mercy for they realised that they had escaped the hand of vengeance. They knelt in the streets and gazed upon the stone, the words forever burned into their minds, words that no one in Naboo will ever forget. The writing proclaimed: there is no death, only freedom.

News spread fast, whispers grew and rumour swept gradually, but determinedly across the country. When he heard of the events in Tatooine, Qui-Gon was in Theed still under the leadership of Count Dooku, but by then the stories of a masked hero saving the lives of rebels was weeks old. I wonder if Qui-Gon was surprised or perhaps he was so far into his grief he did not allow for hope. MacLeane, knowing my friend as well as I do, I am sure was a little surprised; he knew that I would strike, expected it even, however not so soon. He had thought I would allow the dust to settle over my grave before my mysterious return. Well I had waited, longer than my adventurous heart could bear, after all a month is too long to be without adventure.

Funny how, even now, I seem to be the Jedi within; I think like him still, but he is gone as is the need for him and all that remains is the ghost of a voice within my mind. And I think that a phantom of him still lingers within Qui-Gon's mind in the form of memories past when our love was newly started out and he joined in my game for the first time. The memories linger on as a reminder of a time of innocence, when we had love and trust and the daring to take on the world and hope to win. Dreams are a fickle thing, for we did win against the world, and yet it was not enough.

In many ways I was starting my quest a new, building anew legend, a new copycat hero who believed as the Jedi had. No one would know, or indeed guess, it was in fact the same man who wore the mask of justice and who risked his life. It was only those who had been truly close to the Jedi that would suspect that it was I, through some trick or restored from the grave to complete my deed, unable to rest in peace until the blood of innocents cease to be shed. There were also those, who had never truly believed the Jedi had left them. Despite all this, despite all the rumours and hearsay, the myth of the Jedi had been destroyed, broken by a sword blade in a distant prison. Few still clung to a thin hope, but for most the Jedi was gone, which is what I had intended.

Upon hearing the news of the new, masked devil, Qui-Gon informed Dooku that he was going to Mos Espa to determine if there was truth in what the peasants were saying. Qui-Gon did not give Dooku time to object and in truth I do not think Dooku could have. The Jedi and his League had been Qui-Gon's responsibility; it remained so, even in death. MacLeane had arrived in Theed in time to find Qui-Gon pacing. He, too, had heard the stories and he hoped to be in time to prevent Qui-Gon from doing anything foolish. If I could have, I would have told him he stood no chance of stopping Qui-Gon from whatever course of action he had chosen. Qui-Gon is a stubborn man, yes, I admit I am a stubborn man, too, which is why I could have told MacLeane to save his breath. The man never learnt; he worked with me for years and often tried to dissuade me. MacLeane is a good and loyal friend. He ever tried to protect me, and later Qui-Gon, also. He was never able to protect me from myself and it appeared he was doomed to the same fate with Qui-Gon.

"I take it you have heard," Qui-Gon said by way of greeting as his Lieutenant entered.

"The rescue, you mean?" MacLeane asked as casually as he dared.

"Of course."

"It happened in Tatooine," he said. "That is all I know."

"Is it really?" Qui-Gon sneered, not bothering to hide his sarcasm, nor his anger.

"Yes," MacLeane said quietly, but firmly. It was not a lie, not really; he did know nothing about my action at Mos Espa. "What are you suggesting?"

"I do not like being lied to, MacLeane. Do you know something?"

MacLeane is a far better man than I, and I have come to believe a braver man also. I have seen Qui-Gon angry, I would not want to face that, not as an ally at least. As an enemy anger always amused me, but that anger pointed at you by a man who is you friend is damn near terrifying.

"I swear to you, Qui-Gon, I know nothing of the events in Tatooine other than what I hear in the rumours." Again this was mostly true. I had not told MacLeane because I knew that he was finding it increasingly difficult to lie to Qui-Gon. He did know it really was the Jedi, but that was an old lie, buried deep within, ingrained by instinct; a lie he had been telling for years to protect his friend.

"It's not the League?"

"Not as far as I am aware."

"I'm going. I've told Dooku." Qui-Gon had relaxed slightly as MacLeane swore his ignorance, but although he was no longer angry he was still tense and on edge.

"Wha…?" MacLeane has a reputation of being unflappable, a quality I greatly admire and was one of the reasons he was chosen to infiltrate the NIA, but Qui-Gon's announcement did surprise him; the rescue had been weeks ago. "What do you hope to find?"

"What do you think?"

"That's why I am asking."

"The Jedi, the Spider," Qui-Gon shrugged. "Either."

"Is this a good idea?"

"Why shouldn't I go?" Qui-Gon demanded. "I was the Jedi hunter, I know more about him than anyone else and I am part of the investigation into the Spider. I should go."

MacLeane looked at Qui-Gon and saw beneath the layer of anger. Grief still remained in Qui-Gon, deep and raw and still bleeding. Qui-Gon was trying to convince himself of his duty, not his Lieutenant. If MacLeane had not been so loyal to me I think he would have broken at that moment and told Qui-Gon everything, anything to get rid of that look with those beautiful blue eyes.

"Very well," MacLeane said, some how managing to mask his own grief, not for my death, but for the end to a pure love. He knew that even after the fight was over the love Qui-Gon held for me would never be the same. He grieved for that love, he grieved for Qui-Gon and he grieved for me who had had no choice, but to give up the purest of love.

"I was not asking your permission."

MacLeane did not argue further, he did not have the heart to, nor was there any real reason why he should. When I first began implementing my plan to die I had told MacLeane that if Qui-Gon once again decided to gadabout the countryside in search of a shadow then he should let him. So, MacLeane helped Qui-Gon prepare for his journey and watched him leave the city. Deep within his heart he felt a sense of foreboding, it source he could not determine, but for whatever reason fear was stirred within him.

* * *

"Mace."

"MacLeane."

The two men met in the halls of the palace, although the centre of Palpatine's tyranny, meeting elsewhere would have been suspicious. Meeting in the halls of the palace offered a strange kind of security, especially with Maul away attending to the King's dirty work outside the country. With Palpatine's killer gone, the ever present danger was considerably less.

"Qui-Gon's gone to Mos Espa," MacLeane told Mace with no preamble.

"I heard." Mace looked amused.

"Follow him," MacLeane ordered. "Make sure he doesn't get into trouble.

"How much trouble could he get into?"

MacLeane's face was enough to ask the question, 'what, are you joking?' Mace decided not to push the other League member, he looked a little tense.

"And what will you be doing?"

"I'm going to find the Jedi."

"Good luck with that," Mace said, completely unsurprised to hear there leader was still alive. "He's in the city?"

MacLeane just smiled before leaving to let the Guard make his own arrangements. Before MacLeane had joined the NIA, he and Mace had been the closest of friends, but for their safety and for others they had to let their friendship fall by the way side. Guilt at what my friends and companions have had to give up gnaws at me often. I see their losses in their eyes. It had been along time since Mace and MacLeane had been friends, but Mace still could read his old friend and if he had not known I could take care pf myself that smile would have made him fear for my safety.

* * *

Qui-Gon and Mace were not the only ones to make the journey to Tatooine after the rumours of the Jedi reached them; in their wake came Count Dooku, who came believing that the Spider would appear where news of the ghostly Jedi emanate from and he refused to allowed the glory of catching such an illustriously murderer go to someone else. He had ambitions and he wanted the Spider for himself.

And yet another followed them; in Shadows and night the Spider crept, in step with Qui-Gon the entire journey. Just as Count Dooku thought he would, although his motives were not what Dooku believed. The Spider has heard the tales of the Jedi-esc adventure from Tatooine before Qui-Gon and so, as quickly as he was able, he sought out Lord Jinn and watched him; watched to see if any recognition flickered within his eyes. When Lord Jinn did finally hear the news, all the Spider saw and heard was genuine; Qui-Gon's actions were not those of a skilled actor. The Spider was not deceived by Qui-Gon, because there had been no deception; as I had intended.

I wonder now, as I recall this tale, if Qui-Gon knew of his stalker or if he even questioned his motivations for going, for deserting his new appointment. Investigating the undeniable echo of a Jedi rescue was surely reason enough for him to go, wasn't it? But why? Why did he go to a place that would taunt him of memories of his dead beloved. Did he hope that the Jedi still lived, as some hoped? Did he believe, as Dooku did, that a Jedi imitator would lure the Spider out? Was that his only purpose, to seek his revenge and bring justice upon a man he believed was a betrayer of the people as he had once believed of me?

I know Qui-Gon prided himself on his ability to read people, it was what had made him such a successful agent of the NIA, and being able to see beneath my masks he took particular pride it, but I am just as guilty as my beloved in my arrogance of assuming I knew what he did and why. Yet, after my death I am incapable of guessing his reasons and Macleane, as close as he had become to Qui-Gon, could offer no explanation either. Maybe, if anyone had asked my beloved, Qui-Gon, too, would have had no answer.

The Spider had waited, watching, wanting to see what Lord Jinn would do. There were questions that lingered, questions that hunted both of their minds; did the Jedi still live? Did Obi-Wan?

* * *

"Obi-Wan!"

"MacLeane," I greeted him, ignoring his obvious annoyance. To most, MacLeane is a dispassionate man. I, on the other hand, have found the opposite to be the case; I seem to have the knack of making him furious. "What brings you here?"

He had found me in one of the boltholes I had in Theed. It wouldn't have taken him long, even if he had checked everyone of them. Since my untimely death at the hands of the dreadful Spider and the subsequent distraction of the League, the number of places I had to hide in were significantly narrowed.

"Qui-Gon has gone to Mos Espa," he said, trying to ignore his anger as I had done. I do not think I helped him any with my complete lack of surprise.

"Good."

"I sent Mace to keep an eye on him." He was watching me carefully and I think he only told me about Mace to try and get a response out of me. We've played this game before, many times over the years, I always win; I cannot help my competitive nature.

"Even better."

We stood, staring at each other, his anger beginning to boil over and I as impassive as ever.

"Will you tell me nothing of your plans?" he finally asked, anger now touched with hints of desperation.

"In time, MacLeane." I allowed him the small comfort. "But for now I need you to go to Beli'ay."

"Coruscant?"

"Yes, indeed. You are to fetch Amidala and escort her wherever she wishes to go, preferably to the palace."

He drew in a deep breath, once again completely in control; he knew what this assignment meant.

"It has come to it then, at last?"

"Yes, I believe that it has."

He left quickly after that. I watched him go, wishing all the luck of the Jedi to go with him. He would need it, as would Amidala. Finally, after all our years of struggle, the beginning of the end was upon us. Ironic really, that my crusade had been leading to this and yet I would not been fighting with Amidala and the rebellion, I would be elsewhere, dealing with a different threat. Not Palpatine, for all his evil he was a visible target, no, my adversary was not tyranny, but deceit in the shadowy form of the Spider.

Across the ocean, in the lands of my birth, others were also hearing news of the Jedi; they heard and they waited. Travin waited for instructions from his master, the Spider, on what he should do next. My hope that doubt would delay his attempts of Amidala's life had paid off. Maul waited in Beli'ay, knowing that his king would demand answers soon, answers to the questions: who was the Jedi? And was he really dead? And finally, Amidala waited. She had heard the news and knew, with a shrewd political instinct, that time was closing in and that soon she, too, must make a journey, one into the dangerous territories of her homeland.


End file.
